Pedro Sánchez meets with civil society representatives at the fourth Conference on Financing for Development

FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre, Seville

Group photo of the meeting (Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa)

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, has met with representatives of civil society organisations that have participated in the debates of the fourth International Conference on Financing for Development of the United Nations, held in Seville. Specifically, the president spoke with Félix Ovejero, Eva Saldaña and Marta Iglesias, representatives of Futuro en Común; with Javier Ruiz Gaitán, president of the Coordinadora de Organizaciones para el Desarrollo; and with Patricia Sánchez, president of the Coordinadora Andaluza de ONGD.

These platforms include hundreds of organisations focused on a wide range of sectors, including development cooperation, trade unions, environmentalists, feminists, peace activists, migrants, youth, children and consumers.

Among the issues addressed were the analysis of the Seville Commitment and the possibilities for its momentum and development beyond the fourth International Conference, civil society strategies to neutralise denialist and anti-multilateralist narratives, and potential formulas for advancing policies consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals.

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, speaks with civil society representatives during the meeting | Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

The representatives of civil society have positively valued Spain's position of moving forwards in its commitment to development aid policies, as well as its attitude of listening to the proposals of non-governmental organisations. They also highlighted the leading role of our country in the coalition created this week within the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force to study ways in which the air transport sector can contribute to a just ecological transition, with measures such as a tax on private jets or premium airline tickets.

For his part, the president of the Government of Spain valued the contributions of civil society and expressed his willingness to strengthen ties in order to continue working on consensus policies. He also emphasised the importance of continuing to promote the Green Deal, and highlighted the value of the results achieved at the Seville Conference in such a convulsive and complicated international context.

Non official translation